Category Archives: Sleep

Synchronization of women’s menstruation with the Moon has decreased but remains detectable when gravitational pull is strong

Helfrich-Förster C, Domenie ED, Mitesser O, Hovestadt T, Ferlin A, Wehr TA, Costa R, Montagnese S Sci Adv To increase reproductive success, many species synchronize reproductive behavior with a particular phase of the lunar cycle. The human menstrual cycle has also a period close to that of the lunar cycle, and recent studies suggest a […]

Stuck in time: The slow march of circadian medicine and how to speed it up

Cajochen C, Montagnese S J Sleep Res While there is considerable enthusiasm for the translational and clinical applications of chronobiology, their actual implementation is not progressing as rapidly as might be expected. Here we discuss the possibility that this may relate to a combination of conceptual, methodological, evidentiary and training challenges. These are compounded by […]

Sleep timing in flies from “adolescence” to adulthood

Domenie ED, Cusumano P, Montagnese S, Costa R Fly (Austin) The aim of the present study was to assess sleep timing in Drosophila melanogaster at different ages, within the setting of an enforced schedule of varying light-dark stimuli, simulating light exposure variations between four typical office working days and one free day spent outside by a human, for a total of […]

Validation and TaqMan Conversion of a Molecular Chronotype Assessment Approach

Biscontin A, Russo A, Marnetto D, Pagani L, Costa R, Montagnese S J Biol Rhythms The present study aimed to develop a TaqMan genotyping card for molecular chronotype assessment based on a predictive panel of 35 previously identified genetic variants. A reliable TaqMan assay was successfully developed for 33 out of the 35 chronotype-predictive variants. […]

Assessing evidence in translational chronobiology: The cases of Daylight Saving Time and road safety, and of school start times and sleep duration

Giusti G, Mangini C, Erminelli D, Domenie ED, Montagnese S Chronobiology International One of the main challenges in translating chronobiology research into clinical practice is represented by differences in how basic scientists and clinicians evaluate evidence. The workshop “Assessing Evidence in Translational Chronobiology,” which was held at the University of Surrey in June 2023, addressed […]

Long-term effects of daylight saving time on driving fatigue

Orsini F, Domenie ED, Zarantonello L, Costa R, Montagnese S, Rossi R Heliyon The study of the relationship between Daylight Saving Time (DST) and road safety has yielded contrasting results, most likely in relation to the inability of crash-database approaches to unravel positive (ambient lighting-related) and negative (circadian/sleep-related) effects, and to significant geographical differences in […]

Personalising circadian hygiene educational initiatives aimed at university students-“He who has ears to hear, let him hear”

Giusti G, Domenie ED, Zarantonello L, Mangini C, Ferrari P, Costa R, Montagnese S J Sleep Res The aim of the present study was to characterise “early drop-outs” (n = 3185) out of a group of university students (n = 7766) engaged in an ongoing circadian education initiative, to evaluate its efficacy and direct its […]

Managing Circadian Disruption due to Hospitalization: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of the CircadianCare Inpatient Management System

Mangini C, Zarantonello L, Formentin C, Giusti G, Domenie ED, Ruggerini D, Costa R, Skene DJ, Basso D, Battagliarin L, Di Bella A, Angeli P, Montagnese S J Biol Rhythms The objective of the present study was to test the effects of an inpatient management system (CircadianCare) aimed at limiting the negative impact of hospitalization […]

The Alarm Clock Against the Sun: Trends in Google Trends Search Activity Across the Transitions to and from Daylight Saving Time

Domenie ED, Zarantonello L, Mangini C, Formentin C, Giusti G, Ruggerini D, Cusumano P, Biscontin A, Costa R, Montagnese S J Circadian Rhythms The human circadian timing system depends on the light/dark cycle as its main cue to synchronize with the environment, and thus with solar time. However, human activities depend also on social time, […]

Driving fatigue increases after the Spring transition to Daylight Saving Time in young male drivers: A pilot study

Orsini F, Giusti G, Zarantonello L, Costa R, Montagnese S, Rossi R Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour The Spring transition to Daylight Saving Time (DST) has been associated with several health and road safety issues. Previous literature has focused primarily on the analysis of historical crash and hospitalization data, without investigating specific […]